A Crimson Flag
by lacelottie
Summary: Crimson Avenger celebration fic. Under different circumstances, perhaps we would've met in a land of peace instead of the battlefield, as brother and sister instead of sworn enemies. I thought I was strong, but pain demands to be felt. You taught me virtue, compassion, and love. So why did you give yourself to vengeance?


_Haha quick fic rip. I love the looks of Crimson Avenger so far must get hh_

_Also I adore Lord Knight cuddles him like he's a cutie _

_Pops out an Elsword fic like I haven't been writing enough lately oops_

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The last person Elsword expected to meet was the same girl who had been gone from his life for far too long. The Lord Knight had been camped outside Feita, preparing with the El Search Party to leave soon enough to continue their conquest of the lands. With Rena and Aisha at his side and his friends all ready to back him up, the knight felt confident in their successful victory.

"Soon!" he'd told the soldiers, his words met with a symphony of cheer and praise. "This land will become our sovereign once again!"

The troops headed out, all guided by him and the party. Earlier that week they'd heard news of a group of monsters headed their way, leaving in their footprints pillage and assault. Now finally ready to head out and face then head on, the Lord Knight gripped the handle of his blade tightly as they advanced, little by little. Their trek continued on, through the Shrine of Dedication and marshlands alike. Now, after a full day of marching, everyone was ready to set up camp. With sharp orders and idle chatter accompanying his every move, Elsword ambled his way through the crowd as he reached the main tent, the one where the El Search Party would be spending the night. Calling a final farewell to the gathered soldiers, Elsword disappeared inside of his tent.

"Well, well, aren't you popular." The knight turns immediately to find the smirking Dimension Witch pressed up against a wall, her hair let down from their usual curly ponytails. Her staff is rested on the counter nearby, the star-shaped weapon gleaming under lantern light.

"With skill comes popularity," he replied cheekily back, pressing forwards just as Aisha fell in step beside him. The magical girl twirled herself around as she walked, finding Elsword's pace easiliy to keep up with.

"We didn't get any battle done today!" she exclaimed.

Just as Elsword turned around to reply, seemingly out of nowhere a certain Blade Master turned the corner, Rena holding onto his arm as the two laughed. Upon seeing Aisha and Elsword, the two members spun apart with surprising swiftness, both of their cheeks flushed.

"You don't have to hide it, you know," the Dimension Witch laughed at the Grand Archer, who gave her teammate a soft smile.

"Good afternoon, Aisha, Elsword." She nodded.

"Afternoon," Elsword greeted back, very curious indeed. He knew Raven and Rena had grown close through the course of many battles, but could it be that their relationship exceeded friendship...?

It was something he'd have to ask said Blade Master sooner or later, perhaps during one of their sparring matches. Those were times where the Nasod-arm wielder could really open up to his opponent, only after both were gasping for breath and bruised black and purple from countless strikes.

"Elsword?" Raven's voice snaps the Lord Knight from his trance-like state, and the red-haired knight turns to face the speaker.

"Yeah, what is it?" Something in Raven's face distracts Elsword, and the Lord Knight instantly feels concern.

"Isn't it strange?" Raven spoke, and his words instantly drew the attention of Rena and Aisha. The girls stopped their chatter to listen, Rena with furrowed brows and Aisha with wide eyes.

Raven took a breath before continuing, flexing his Nasod arm in an uncharacteristic show of worry. "We've been marching all yesterday and today, and we have yet to see a single monster. What happened to all of them? Chung's been on patrol lately, and he says all he can find are pieces of broken armour and shattered weapons."

This caught Elsword's attention. The red-haired knight took a while to think, tapping his finger on his chin as he pondered many possibilities. "Maybe," he started slowly. "Someone was here before us. Have they sent any other troops out recently?"

Rena shook her head. "All the manpower Feita can spare has been given to us to help our quest." The elf had checked with the barracks beforehand, making it her duty to make sure the crusade would go as smoothy as possible.

"Then what could it be?" Aisha voiced the question that had been on everyone's minds, and all four search party members stood there, stumped for minutes. Finally, Elsword shook his head.

"There's no use sitting here and thinking about it," the Lord Knight told his teammates, taking it upon himself to take the leader role if no one was offering themselves up to it. "All of you, get some rest. We'll talk this over with all of the group tomorrow."

"I can take a few men and go look around," Raven offered, tapping his fingers on the hilt of his sword. "Won't take too long, and we'll meet you at the next checkpoint."

Elsword nodded. "Sounds good. Thank you, Raven."

In response, his swordfighting teacher simply gave the red-haired knight a playful rub on the head, messing up his locks. As strands of hair fell into his eyes, Elsword opened his mouth in complaint just as Raven took Rena's arm and lead the lady back where they had originally been heading from.

"Don't stay up too late!" Aisha called after them. "Be sure to stay safe. Rena, watch out for the Nasod arm!"

The only response the Dimension Witch got was a very angry nature spirit, who refused to leave the mage alone for the rest of the night. Aisha had walked off scowling, trying to dodge the spirit's attempts at attacks as she complained loudly. Watching them, the Lord Knight simply shook his head and chuckled, feeling a sense of peace to know that his teammates were still the same. Even so, the knight felt troubled; who could possibly be slaughtering all the monsters? Such deeds heeded a considerable amount of power, and depending on if they were friend or foe the outcomes of this quest could play very differently. Lord Knight stood there, his brow furrowed as he thought back to the events of when they had first arrived at Feita.

For the first week or so, he kept getting stopped on the street. Continuously, villager after villager after soldier asked him about the legendary red-haired knight, if they were possibly related, wed, or the like. Apparently, he looked so much like this amazing saviour that people felt the need to pressure him for information whenever he went outside.

At first, it hadn't meant much. Maybe they just had him confused; admittedly, there weren't many knights that had blazing red hair, but surely such a thing was a coincidence. However, after he'd gotten frustrated enough to snap and done some research, Elsword felt the very blood in his veins chill to the core.

The red-haired knight was a female. A legendary swordswoman, wielding a fierce Claymore and decked in dark armour. The Dark Knight, they called her, a saviour of darkness and a vigilante of good. A most unlikely hero, but wielding the power of matchless swordsmanship.

There was only one person that Elsword knew who fit all of these explanations. Someone who looked like him, with hair the colour of fire and swordsmanship to end all... it had to be his sister, Elesis. It just had to be.

So Elsword had looked. He'd delayed their trip for an entire month just so he could poke around Feita and interrogate people for information—anything to find the sister that had left for his protection and never returned. Anything for the sister he missed more than anything.

However, no matter how hard he tried, no trace of Elesis was ever found. It was as if she had simply vanished into the wind—her, and the troop of Feita knights she'd taken with her to battle the demons. Indeed, he had been too late by a margin of a hair.

The Lord Knight sighed, pushing his fingers through his messy locks in an attempt to smooth out his thoughts. They'd been nothing but dark of late; if he wasn't worrying about their battle process, he was pondering on Elesis' disappearance. Surely, she was alive. The sister he so loved... there was no way she would go down that easily. And what if she was injured...?

Dark thoughts accompanying him, Elsword suddenly turned on his heel and exited the tent, wandering into the base of their headquarters as he felt the thick canvas close behind his figure. Picking up his sword and waving to one of the guards on standby, the Lord Knight left their small clearing for some peace and quiet. Since there were no demons about, surely it was okay for one to amble around alone. He needed peace and quiet to clear his mind, and as much as he loved his exotic teammates they could be certainly be quite the noisemakers, between Aisha's spellcasting and Chung's... enthusiastic screaming.

Without knowing where he was going, Elsword found his feet lead him to a curtained off section of Fieta, between masses of large, writhing trees and bushes to make their mark. Small branches attacked his armour mercilessly, as if thinking they could do actual damage through the moulded steel. Using his sword to clear his way, the boy fought his way through the undergrowth until he suddenly burst into another clearing, filled with small peeks of light that trusted between the gaping holes of leaves as the sun slowly fell down. Upon meeting such an ethereal sight, Elsword was momentarily dumbstruck. Well, this was a spot as good as any to sit down and think for a moment, wasn't it?

Just as the knight's thoughts began to overflow with memories from his childhood, unsealing a torrent of suppressed emotions, Elsword thought back to his big sister. Elesis... always brave, always daring, and above everything always looking out for her family. He'd looked up to her, honoured her, raised her so high on a godly pedestal that the discovery of her suddenly and untimely disappearance had struck into the very heart of his inspiration. If he had no more goal, then what good was his dignity and moral? How could he keep on training when there was no longer someone else to look up to, to catch up to, to protect?

If only he had been stronger. If only he'd been a man, damnit, able to protect and serve those he loved.

Just as he started to sink deeper into the pit of misery, a sudden noise from his right made the Lord Knight glance up. What? From the bushes erupted a squad of Glitter monsters, desperation clear on their faces as they wielded deadly weapons and prepared to attack. Elsword jumped up, ready to battle as he drew his sword in front of him, blocking an attack from a spearman. The Lord Knight leapt back, brow furrowed as he planned the best course of action. Too much noise might attract nearby monsters—weren't they all wiped out? It seemed that there were still some eager to fight. No matter; he'd deal with this quickly enough.

Just as the Lord Knight prepared to attack, he was suddenly stopped by an immense force. Turning around, the knight let out a small gasp before rolling to the side just in time to avoid a large, rolling saw that promptly attacked the gathered group. As Elsword stood up slowly, dusting off his clothes, he heard the screams of the dying echo in his ears as the spinning attack sliced through all their meagre defences. Who was his mysterious saviour? The boy winced as he watched the heartless slaughter—surely there was a better way to do that, the Lord Knight thought.

"Elsword?"

He stopped in his tracks as someone spoke from within the shadows—a soft, feminine tone. The knight froze—that voice . . .!

_No, that's impossible. _Slowly, he turned around.

Golden eyes greeted his own, accompanied by a large breeze that blew the daisies off their stems, blew bright red hair into the starlight.

Elsword shattered. Was it . . . Could it be . . . ?

"Elsword," she said again, voice this time filled with something he couldn't recognise—the faintest tone of anguish, or was he pretending?

Her golden eyes glittered as she stepped up, catching the reflection of the rising moonlight. The sky stretched red as the sun faded from view and eternal blackness began to take over, and Elsword stepped back unwillingly as his sister came into full view.

"Ele—" he stopped himself, pausing as he caught sight of her weapon. A wicked blade, curving and catching light with glinting medal. At her side, her arm fell limp, and blood dripped in tiny, slow petals onto the grass.

"You're injured!" he exclaimed, thinking to worry about his sister's presence later and her wellbeing now.

Elesis raised her arm, regarding the blood with cold casualness. She sent Elsword a look that sent shivers up the Lord Knight's back—when had his sister _ever_ looked at him that way?

"Elesis . . ." he said again, this time speaking out her name loud and clear. He gulped before continuing on, sucking in a large breath of air through his nose. "Are you all right?"

His sister shot him a glance, golden yellows flashing. "Yes," she replied, voice monotone as she stalked over to the dead bodies of the monsters Elegantly staring down, she swiftly raised a leg before firmly stepping down on the fallen. "Fine," she murmured.

Elsword watched this scene with surprise—no, he told himself, his mind going a mile a minute. Was this really his beloved sister? The one that respected her enemies, a knight of honour and dignity in battle, courageous and merciful?

The Lord Knight watched as his sister kicked aside another body, sheathing her sword as she began to step away.

"Wait!" he found his voice just in time, unwilling to let her disappear from his life again.

Elesis stopped, but did not turn his head.

Despite this, Elsword continued on. "Elesis, it's me, Elsword! I . . . I'm looking for the El. With it, we can create another era! People will be happy again, the demons will be a thing of the past!" He paused. "Sis . . . will you come with me?"

Elesis let out a soft sigh, and Elsword expected his beloved sister to turn around with her old, bright grin, messing up his hair and telling him it was all right. In a perfect world, he'd save all of Eloris with his sister and teammates by his side.

He'd learnt through his travels that life wasn't fair. He'd learnt from hearing Raven's tale of woe, from watching Eve destroy the King Nasod she had clung onto for her future. He'd learnt from watching Aisha doubt herself and her power, hearing Chung and Ara cry for the families that had been ripped from them so brutally. He thought he'd seen suffering by learning of those caught in the slave trade, the mindless slaughter of countless villages at the hands of demons.

He knows suffering. He knows heartbreak and he knows how to comfort people, but never has Elsword thought such a thing would happen to him.

"Elsword," Elesis says again, her voice harsh. "The demons are powerful." She shook her head, loose crimson hair falling like a silk sheet on her back, stirred by motion. She turned her head, a tiny fraction to look her brother directly in the eye. "There will be no peace until we get revenge."

The Lord Knight stopped in his speech, staring at his once-sister.

"Vengeance is the only thing I live for." Elesis turned back again, her posture straight and cold. "Family and peace matters little."

He's too frozen to reply.

"I will kill all that exist to harm."

And then Elesis simply turns on her heel and walks away, and Elsword thinks that all the words in the world could not express his feelings. He was never a silvertongue, and in the face of such betrayal . . .

All he can is watch his sister's retreating back.

Then, as if on a whim, Lord Knight gives a single, small chuckle. Well, now he was the stuff of stories. The boy knight that set out, eager and bright, but failed to retrieve his sister. A tale to be told at a campfire on how he'd failed at the biggest goal in his life. How he would never, could never want to compare to Elesis' newfound, merciless power . . . With an almost maniacal grin, Elsword imagined Aisha's reaction, Rena's reaction, what his teammates would think once he gave up on the goal of finding Elesis, and if they might meet her in battle. He smiled as tears dripped down his cheeks, and Lord Knight wipes away his wet weakness with a small sniff—he hadn't cried since he was young, and this time there was more motivational force to drive away his sadness, no comforting family member to look after him for forever and a day.

Pain demands to be felt, after all.


End file.
